(1) Experiencing Environmental Sensitivities:
We are interested in interviewing people who have had environmental sensitivities for 5 years or more. The interview will last approximately 30 minutes and will explore the phenomenology of what it is like to experience sensitivities and to interact with others in a chemical culture. If you are interested in participating, please go to www.mcsresearch.net and click on current studies to open the consent form and to complete the short demographic questionnaire. If you do not have computer access or cannot use a computer, please contact our lab for a hard copy of the short demographic survey. You can call us at 540-568-6195.
(2) Clients' Perceptions of Services from Mental Health Providers for Persons with Environmental Sensitivities:
In this study we will examine people's perceptions of any services they have received from psychological providers. People with ES end up in the offices of mental health providers for a variety of reasons: for counseling, for evaluations in regard to disability applications or as requested by Vocational Rehabilitation, or when referred by a physician who perceives the problem to be psychological. There may be other reasons as well. We are interested in the treatment that people receive, whether they are accommodated by these providers, and their perceptions of how knowledgeable mental health providers are regarding sensitivities. In addition, as part of this study we invite anyone who has received a psychological evaluation from a psychologist to submit it so we can examine how people with sensitivities are being construed by psychologists. There has for a long time been a movement to frame MCS/ES as a psychological illness. We believe it is physical and would like to attempt to begin discussion of the ways that persons with MCS are framed in evaluations. If you are willing to participate go to www.mcsresearch.net and click on current studies to follow the link or go directly to the link below to take our survey of psychological services on Qualtrics.
If you are unable to take the survey online or know someone who would like to participate without taking the survey on line, we can be contacted for either an e-mail copy or a hard copy of the survey. Phone 540-568-6195 or e-mail gibsonpr@jmu.edu